Richard Madden: male actors are also pressured to lose weight for nude scenes

Bodyguard actor said he and other actors frequently give in to industry pressure to stay slim

The entertainment industry places as much pressure on men to look slim in nude scenes as on women, the actor Richard Madden has said.

Speaking to Vogue, Madden railed against a trend he admitted he was a part of. Were projecting a very unrealistic body image, he said. I find myself with actor friends after weve done a kind of barely eating, working out twice a day, no-carbing thing for these scenes, looking at each other and going: Were just feeding this same shit that were against.

Madden continued by saying that male actors are pressured as much as their female counterparts by producers eager for them to appear as lean as possible. It doesnt just happen to women, he said, it happens to men all the time. Madden reported that he had often been told to lose weight and get to the gym when taking on roles.

Reports last month suggested that Rocketman director Dexter Fletcher was under pressure to omit a scene in which Madden and Taron Egerton, who plays John, lie in bed naked together in order to secure a lower age rating in the US.